LCD-X and XC Update

[WaveTheory]

I just posted a review of the LCD-XC 2021:



Enjoy!

 

[Strat1117]

That's why I won't buy the HE6se... I know it will end in a rabbit hole of new amps and a lot of time spent in research and stuff. It would drive me mad to know I have a gem in my hands while not taking full advantage of it.

Let's hope the LCD-X won't break my neck!


Thanks for the insight, I always thought the X would be a bit dark in comparison (not as the old X, but still...).


Also another question for you guys: is it true the Xs don't scale much with gear?

The LCD-X is meatier than the Sundara, which probably includes an element of darker, but for me, the Sundara was a bit too light - the extra (sonic) weight of the LCD-X was exactly what I wanted.

And speaking of weight, I’ve commented on this before, IMHO that whole ‘break neck’ thing is seriously exaggerated. Yes, I’m a 6’1”, 250 lb galoot, but I truly do not believe the LCD-X are heavy enough to give pain to anyone who doesn’t have a pre-existing medical condition. I find them cushy and comfortable. I wear them for hours at a time and the weight does not bother me in the slightest. YMMV, of course, but I do think the Audeze weight thing is more urban myth than reality-based.

As far as scaling, everyone’s got a different opinion, but I think the 2021 LCD-X is more than neutral enough to expose the differences in amps and sources or I would not use it. But, I’m an old school ‘garbage in, garbage out’ guy, so I am naturally biased in favor of using better electronics to get better sound. That’s more accepted as a universal ‘rule’ in the 2-channel world than in the headphone world, but I personally maintain it applies equally to most (not all) headphones, especially when dealing with truly high end gear like the LCD-X.

All that being said, my best advice is to put together the best system you can reasonably afford and then listen to and enjoy your music. Try not to get caught up in the equipment merry-go-round (easier said than done - we all get caught up at some point or another; just being on this forum is evidence of that!).

Good luck!!

 

[szore]

The LCD-X is meatier than the Sundara, which probably includes an element of darker, but for me, the Sundara was a bit too light - the extra (sonic) weight of the LCD-X was exactly what I wanted.

And speaking of weight, I’ve commented on this before, IMHO that whole ‘break neck’ thing is seriously exaggerated. Yes, I’m a 6’1”, 250 lb galoot, but I truly do not believe the LCD-X are heavy enough to give pain to anyone who doesn’t have a pre-existing medical condition. I find them cushy and comfortable. I wear them for hours at a time and the weight does not bother me in the slightest. YMMV, of course, but I do think the Audeze weight thing is more urban myth than reality-based.

As far as scaling, everyone’s got a different opinion, but I think the 2021 LCD-X is more than neutral enough to expose the differences in amps and sources or I would not use it. But, I’m an old school ‘garbage in, garbage out’ guy, so I am naturally biased in favor of using better electronics to get better sound. That’s more accepted as a universal ‘rule’ in the 2-channel world than in the headphone world, but I personally maintain it applies equally to most (not all) headphones, especially when dealing with truly high end gear like the LCD-X.

All that being said, my best advice is to put together the best system you can reasonably afford and then listen to and enjoy your music. Try not to get caught up in the equipment merry-go-round (easier said than done - we all get caught up at some point or another; just being on this forum is evidence of that!).

Good luck!!

I agree. My X is very comfortable...I wear it hours at a time and I never notice the weight.

 

[cacacacaciiiiii]

That's why I won't buy the HE6se... I know it will end in a rabbit hole of new amps and a lot of time spent in research and stuff. It would drive me mad to know I have a gem in my hands while not taking full advantage of it.

Let's hope the LCD-X won't break my neck!


Thanks for the insight, I always thought the X would be a bit dark in comparison (not as the old X, but still...).


Also another question for you guys: is it true the Xs don't scale much with gear?

Just received the LCD-X. Can I please say that all this weight nonsense is ridiculous. I honestly believe they either changed something drastic about these headphones so that they are not a problem to have on - or there are people with some serious, serious medical issues out there. (or as my assumption goes: people who parrot what they read without trying, or shills for another brand)

And this is coming from the owner of an ATH-r70x.

 

[cacacacaciiiiii]

EQ Revision (05-15-22)
For more punch and slam

For those of you interested the EQ profile I posted in February it has under gone several silent revisions. The latest can be found below in the 19 band version iteration.

And so for deep, tight bass that sounds more resolving and moves quickly out of the way of the honestly crafted mids and meticulously shaped highs, that accentuates the LCD-X’s "punch and slam" effect with kick drums and snares.



As you can see from the overlay-ed, inverted chart of Oratory1990's Harman Compensated FR (yes PEACE can do that!) I have stuck with his mids calculations even more religiously than he did. My curve (green) deviates most from his (red) in the bass and the highs, adding a couple shots of bass slam and sparkling highs that makes vocalists more realistic and up close and personal. 90Hz is exaggerated in order target bass drums and make them cut through the mix. The dip before 36.5Hz is there to give sub,sub bass some slam to bass guitars.


Pre Amp: -14.5 (Be sure to enter this value to avoid clipping)

Band 1: Freq 35.5 Gain 4.4 Q 0.69 Filter Low Shelf
Band 2: Freq 36.5 Gain 0.96 Q 4 Filter Low Shelf
Band 3: Freq 90 Gain 4 Q 1.41 Filter Peak
Band 4: Freq 115 Gain 9 Q 0.7 Filter Low Shelf
Band 5: Freq 120 Gain 2.25 Q 1.41 Filter Peak
Band 6: Freq 220 Gain -1.95 Q 1.7 Filter Peak
Band 7: Freq 535 Gain 0.55 Q 2.1 Filter Peak
Band 8: Freq 810 Gain -1.85 Q 2.41 Filter Peak
Band 9: Freq 1235 Gain -1 Q 2.4 Filter High Shelf
Band 10: Freq 1500 Gain 8.4 Q 0.71 Filter High Shelf
Band 11: Freq 1910 Gain 1.3 Q 5 Filter Peak
Band 12: Freq 2800 Gain -4.2 Q 2 Filter Peak
Band 13: Freq 3400 Gain 4.5 Q 2.1 Filter Peak
Band 14: Freq 4750 Gain 1.15 Q 8.2 Filter Peak
Band 15: Freq 5780 Gain -5 Q 4.75 Filter Peak
Band 16: Freq 7350 Gain -2.4 Q 7 Filter Peak
Band 17: Freq 8150 Gain -1.25 Q 8 Filter Peak
Band 18: Freq 13250 Gain 1.2 Q 2.1 Filter High Shelf
Band 19: Freq 21000 Gain 1.2 Q 0.85 Filter Peak

To increase or decrease sub-bass, adjust gain to Band 4 to taste.
To increase or decrease treble/air, adjust gain to Band 16 to taste.


Here’s two original tracks of mine to try this profile out with that I mastered with the LCD-X 2021 that really pushes these cans to do things previously not thought possible by me:

Jonne Haven - “Big Bad World”



Jonne Haven - “Swing”




Once again, the LCD-X 2021 proves itself to be equal to the task of representing even the smallest of EQ changes and tweaks. It’s an integral and indispensable tool in the studio!



Blessings,
-J

Amazing job!!! Thank you!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Just received the LCD-X. Can I please say that all this weight nonsense is ridiculous. I honestly believe they either changed something drastic about these headphones so that they are not a problem to have on - or there are people with some serious, serious medical issues out there. (or as my assumption goes: people who parrot what they read without trying, or shills for another brand)

And this is coming from the owner of an ATH-r70x.

Do you have scales, just weigh them?
They are the heaviest HP I owned except old LCD-2, but ergonomics are suprisingly good so they are not as punishable as the older Audeze models.

 

[Jonne Haven]

Amazing job!!! Thank you!

You bet!!!

 

[jlemaster1957]

Amazing job!!! Thank you!

Thanks for re-posting Jon’s EQ. I note in this thread that many users eschew EQ for the X but the point of those who find it useful is that this set in almost infinitely “EQ-able” and can still sounds fantastic!

A few weeks back I had read a lot of posts stating that they found the 2021 version of X less than inspiring, and so I laid it aside and spent some time with my IEMs (including some TOTLS, the 64 Audio U12T and Empire Ears Legend X), and started to consider to sell my X. They are very fine IEMS and I love them a lot. Then i returned to the X and suddenly WOW! I had forgotten how much impact they have, the staging and technicalities. It’s all part of the “hedonic cycle”. If the set begins to seem a bit less exciting than you had thought at first, lay it aside and listen to something else for a while the. Return later and fall in love again. Repeat.

 

[Jonne Haven]

Thanks for re-posting Jon’s EQ. I note in this thread that many users eschew EQ for the X but the point of those who find it useful is that this set in almost infinitely “EQ-able” and can still sounds fantastic!

A few weeks back I had read a lot of posts stating that they found the 2021 version of X less than inspiring, and so I laid it aside and spent some time with my IEMs (including some TOTLS, the 64 Audio U12T and Empire Ears Legend X), and started to consider to sell my X. They are very fine IEMS and I love them a lot. Then i returned to the X and suddenly WOW! I had forgotten how much impact they have, the staging and technicalities. It’s all part of the “hedonic cycle”. If the set begins to seem a bit less exciting than you had thought at first, lay it aside and listen to something else for a while the. Return later and fall in love again. Repeat.

All I have to do is switch to my 80 Ohm DT770s for five minutes and I miss the LCD-X and LCD-XC with a vengeance. Haha! I know what you're talking about bro.
-J

PS - "It's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you got." -Sheryl Crow

 

[cacacacaciiiiii]

Silly question maybe - does an amp impact the dynamics of the LCD-X at all? Been trying it against the Edition XS, even though the LCD-X is a lot more powerful, the XS feels a lot more nimble and pronounced on fast bass changes. (not sure if its the soundstage or not though)

Wondering if I could alleviate that at all? (example: Mick Gordon - BFG Division. Starting at 0:13)

 

[Jonne Haven]

Silly question maybe - does an amp impact the dynamics of the LCD-X at all? Been trying it against the Edition XS, even though the LCD-X is a lot more powerful, the XS feels a lot more nimble and pronounced on fast bass changes. (not sure if its the soundstage or not though)

Wondering if I could alleviate that at all? (example: Mick Gordon - BFG Division. Starting at 0:13)

Hmm. I don't use a dedicated headphone amp myself. I plug into my Mackie mixing console's headphone amp which is driven by my Focusrite Clarett audio interface. I notice a difference in "bass nimble-ness" between plugging directly into the Clarett vs the Mixer. The mixer gives a little quicker, punchier bass than the Clarett direct.

So maybe what I'm trying to say is yes, an amp may impact dynamics compared to what you're hearing if you're pluggin' directly into your source. That said, I believe Resolve has mentioned that the X doesn't change a huge amount with amplification compared to other headphones. YMMV.

Blessings,
-J

 

[cacacacaciiiiii]

Hmm. I don't use a dedicated headphone amp myself. I plug into my Mackie mixing console's headphone amp which is driven by my Focusrite Clarett audio interface. I notice a difference in "bass nimble-ness" between plugging directly into the Clarett vs the Mixer. The mixer gives a little quicker, punchier bass than the Clarett direct.

So maybe what I'm trying to say is yes, an amp may impact dynamics compared to what you're hearing if you're pluggin' directly into your source. That said, I believe Resolve has mentioned that the X doesn't change a huge amount with amplification compared to other headphones. YMMV.

Blessings,
-J

Not sure how much is placebo, but I tried a much stronger amp now and it seems to bring the LCD-X 'into its place', the feeling I'm getting is that there is a 'fuller' sound now, as if it is struggling less. Which is counter intuitive to the amp requirements of the LCD-X, however, the EQ settings are a bit extreme I guess!

The XS feel like it doesn't really move much more forward with a proper amp, even though it requirements more amplification.

On a sidenote, someone had asked you for a 7-band version of your EQ settings. I have 5-band on the amp now and would love to apply your EQ settings. Any tips on achieving that? I tried visualising your 19 bands and then eyeballing it on the 5-band EQ but not very good at it!

 

[393699]

This headphone needs to be paired with quality equipment to get excellent sonic characteristics out of it. Try it out of a cell phone, and then connect it to a good DAC and AMP right after. The differences in sound quality are immediately noticed. It does not take an audiophile to notice these differences. Anyone can detect the improvements when paired with higher quality gear. Bass, soundstage, imaging, treble control, dynamics, smoothness, resolution, and all around detail retrieval all improve.

 

[Jonne Haven]

Not sure how much is placebo, but I tried a much stronger amp now and it seems to bring the LCD-X 'into its place', the feeling I'm getting is that there is a 'fuller' sound now, as if it is struggling less. Which is counter intuitive to the amp requirements of the LCD-X, however, the EQ settings are a bit extreme I guess!

The XS feel like it doesn't really move much more forward with a proper amp, even though it requirements more amplification.

On a sidenote, someone had asked you for a 7-band version of your EQ settings. I have 5-band on the amp now and would love to apply your EQ settings. Any tips on achieving that? I tried visualising your 19 bands and then eyeballing it on the 5-band EQ but not very good at it!

Give me some time and I'd be happy to try to translate my EQ profile into a 5 band version, though be forwarned I will have to use very broad strokes! I'm already in pain from the broad strokes I'll be using! Ouch!
-J

 

[cacacacaciiiiii]

Give me some time and I'd be happy to try to translate my EQ profile into a 5 band version, though be forwarned I will have to use very broad strokes! I'm already in pain from the broad strokes I'll be using! Ouch!
-J

Haha thank you. It’s on a RME ADI-2-DAC FS, which has funny options for band 1 and 5 but no idea if that’s industry standard